Tuesday, January 12, 2010

A secret family recipe to share...

Most of today I have spent in the kitchen - making lovely things to nourish my family. Firstly it was breadmaking because that takes a while to knead and rise and bake, then it was a batch of my yummy Date Scones for morning teas. I thought you may like to make them too.

Do you have secret family recipes?

Do you sometimes share your secret recipe with friends?

If I had a secret recipe passed on to me by a family member I probably wouldn't tell anyone except my daughters, but the secret family recipe I am going to share today is my very own, so I'm not breaking anyone's trust. ;-)

~Jenny's Date Scones~

Chop up 1 cup of dates very finely...

Pour enough boiling water over them to cover, then let them soak for 15 minutes...

Drain them and discard the liquid...

Put 2 tablespoons of soft butter into a bowl...

Sift 2 cups self-raising flour into the bowl, then rub the butter and flour through your fingers until they look like breadcrumbs...

Take a large measuring cup and into it crack an egg, then add enough milk to reach the 1 cup mark. Whisk them together and pour over the flour/butter mix.

Add the drained dates...

Mix them together lightly and quickly using a flat edged knife - this should take no more than 15 seconds...

Drop the Date Scone mix out onto a floured surface...

Knead it *very* lightly and flatten down to 1 inch high. This should take no more than 20 -25 seconds. The quicker you do this step, the lighter the Scone.

Using a scone cutter, cut and place your scones on an oven tray lined with baking paper (or simply a greased oven tray)..

This quantity of dough will give you a baker's dozen...

Bake at 220C (430F) for 15 minutes...

...and serve buttered with jam or marmalade!

You might want to brew a cup of tea and invite a friend over to share your Date Scones, or like me you may just squirrel away to the pretty round table in the bedroom with your daughter and imagine you're together in a lovely cafe!

Bon appetite!

Hugs

Jenny

xxx

PS: The recipe is universal, no matter if you use metric or imperial, because it's all about using 1 cup measures.

Jenny, I'm going to give these a try. Altho' I love to bake, the one and only time I ever tried to make scones, they were awful. Thanks for the step-by-step directions. Maybe I'll get it right this time! ~karen

Don't quite know how I arrived at your blog but it is really nice. Love your scones. I love to make scones but have not tried dates! I usually put cranraisons in them because I cannot find currants. Must try your dates! Thank you.

I love scones thank you for your recipe I have made so many times now and everyone love them best ever recipe Jenny its a keeper i will e-mail you my Gran's welsh cake recipe if you like.Love visiting your blog Hugs Val